Explore the Idea a Consumer Society Is a Divided Society

This essay will explore the notion that a consumer society is a divided society. By using the information presented in the making social lives booklet it is hoped this essay will present itself clearly in its dialogue offering concise points of discussion relevant to the topic at hand. This essay will look at what consumer society is, how it evolved and why society might be considered consumerist also at how different members of society consume and why these things contribute to the opinion of divisions within a consumer society. Social historians could argue that the idea a of consumer society started as far back as the late 1800s.It was department stores that brought consumer culture to the masses. The first purpose built department store was erected in France in 1869, the Bon Marche. This was the first occasion where many goods that would have previously been sold in separate shops were all under the same roof. This trend found its way to the UK, but unlike the purpose built store in Paris, they grew organically from grocers, drapers or indoor markets. This was a period of mass production where Items could be produced on industrial scale and moved in large quantities around the country, driving down the price of goods and allowing a wider section of society to take part in consuming, although still not the poor. The social scientist Veblen observed that people were buying things to raise their social standings by demonstrating to others their ability to consume and setting an impression to the rest of society (Veblen cited in Hetherington, 2009, P26). It has been a common thought by social scientists that the social identity in the UK should be considered industrial and defined by class. However, this social identity started to shift throughout the 1980s. During this period Social scientist would talk about a post-industrial society where traditional manufacturing industries started to disappear. This lead to changes in the working class communities, more...

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...Outline the view that a consumersociety is a dividedsociety
A consumersociety is a society where people often buy new goods that they do not need (buy goods that are not necessary) and in which places a high value on owning many things (a high value placed on consumption of those goods). This essay will outline how social division is created through consumption and the consequences of consuming. It will first outline what Zygmunt Bauman calls the seduced and the repressed and how people are divided in our society based on these terms. It will then show evidence to support these claims by looking at the study of retail parks by Peter Jackson. Finally this essay will outline the two big supermarket (two different market) powers, namely, the zero-sum power and the positive-sum power and give evidence to support this by outlining the big supermarkets such as Tesco being the main one and how these two powers being looked at by showing two sides of an argument. (use the evidence gathered on big chain supermarket Tesco in the UK to support these two oppositional concepts by looking at the both sides of the argument)
Not everyone is able to consume equally, firstly we will look at the seduced and the repressed. They are two divided (divisions in a) consumersociety. According to a social scientist Zygmunt...

...Consumption has great control on individual’s lives, the whole development, contemporary UK and the rest of the world. Consumersociety is characterization used to explain a society that is defined by the way individuals acquire goods, how they use them and the disposal of these goods. (Hethering, 2009, p.33). Consumption comprises of individual that acquire goods for personal use and those that acquire for manufacturing and resale. However Social Scientist comes in to try and analyse consumer behaviour when acquiring these goods. The question now is whether the consumersociety is a dividedsociety.
Some view consumersociety as dividedsociety and others see it as a society that acquires goods for personal use and that reflects personality and individuality. For some consumersociety is not only about purchasing good for essesntial use but also as a way of trying to get a sense of belonging in society. Social Scientist Zygmun possed a question on whether the ability to be part of a consumersociety was equally available to everyone.(need referencing.)Bauman’s concept of seduced and repressesd consumers visualise inequalities and differences created by a consumersociety. Bauman,...

...that a consumersociety is a dividedsociety.
The principal purpose of this essay is to identify the key facts which substantiate the opinion that a consumersociety is a dividedsociety. I will examine the changes in consumer habits during the industrial and consumersocieties and look at what primary factors create divisions and why. I will be using course materials ranging from written, audio and visual to determine this.
1. Definition of consumersociety
2. Industrial and consumersociety
I will be looking at how consuming and consumer habits have changed over the different periods.
3. Social factors and divisions
To identify the social factors that plays a part in consumersociety and to identify how divisions are made in society and why?
4. The seduced and repressed
To demonstrate how members of society fall into either the seduced or repressed category, and why?
5. Conclusion
To show that I have understood the question by analysing the course material and forming a conclusion that substantiates the opinion in question.
Write an essay that outlines that a consumersociety is a divided...

...CONSUMERSOCIETY
The term consumersociety is commonly used to distinguish contemporary affluent societies from traditional agricultural or modern industrial societies, to emphasize the role of consumption as a factor in social structure and as an element of lifestyle.
History and Meaning of the Term
The concept of the consumersociety has been commonly used since the early decades of the twentieth century, originally in the United States, where the wealth of mass-produced consumer goods first became apparent. It designates the importance of consumption in everyday life, but it has also had ideological connotations, meaning that capitalist economies are overwhelmingly efficient in providing commodities at affordable prices to ordinary consumers. In social science discourses, it has suffered from ill fame. As a theoretical vision of advanced capitalism, it has an air of ideological complacency. This usage of the term was most apparent in the cold war period. Critics have argued that contrasted to “class society,” the notion of consumersociety depicts consumers as a uniform albeit indeterminate group of people with similar interests instead of conflicting classes. It hints at general affluence and suggests that consumption, primarily of commodities, is the most...

...To what extent are we controlled by the consumersociety we live in? The rise of the consumer culture is a phenomenon characteristic for our century. Most American people consider themselves the most prosperous and most free people in the world. Unfortunately, not everything is what it seems to be because of consumerism. It is a cultural cycle that whittles away America's intellectual prosperity. Consumerism itself is defined by the spending habits of the nation's middle and upper classes. According to Juliet Schor, the consumer culture represents a force too powerful to resist, thereby making it impossible to escape even if we wanted to. Therefore, people continue to be buying different products, even after they reach a state of comfort. In this essay, I will explain why I agree with Juliet Schor's statement.
It is believed that advertising manipulates the society through the products of consumer culture, and promotes a false consciousness of needs that later on becomes a way of life. Pervasive advertising and consumer culture have caused a decline in the intellectual standards of U.S. popular culture. Peoples lives today involve little thought; most facts and ideas are fed to a person by the media. Often, misleading or untrue statements are passed through different ads, and only few are noticed or complained about. This system threatens the integrity of...

...TMA-02 P1
Outline who are the winners and losers in a consumersociety .
A consumersociety is a society which is defined as much by what people buy and use as by how they are employed. There has been a gradual change in Britain since the Victorian era from a society defined by class to a society like today defined by consumption. In a consumersociety however there are those who benefit from it, the ‘winners’, and those who do not, the ‘ losers’.
Consumption is more than purchasing goods to satisfy basic needs such as food and clothing. It is an activity that people take part in to establish themselves as individuals and to show self-expression, as well as identifying themselves as being part of a particular social group. This idea is part of the sociologist Thorstein Veblen theory of ‘conspicuous consumption’ .
The social scientist Zygmunt Bauman ( Material lives ,2009 ,p.25) defines people in a consumersociety as either ‘ seduced ‘ or ‘ repressed ‘. Those in the ‘seduced’ category are seen as been able to participate effectively in a consumersociety, and therefore are considered ‘winners’ . The ’seduced’ consumer has a positive identity. They conform to the ideals of this particular...

...Explore the claim that a consumersociety is always a “throw away” societyConsumersociety is one that creates desire and encouragement for greater amount of goods, services and peoples identification with brands. A throwaway society is one that constantly creates waste for desire for new products. Nowadays, people self define in other ways leaning towards personal likes or dislikes such as music tastes, cars we drive or latest fashion accessories allowing people to feel a sense of belonging to particular groups in society As opposed to an Industrial society where people were defined by class structure and their profession. This shift in culture offers us insight into how and why our relationship and values with material goods from buying to disposal helped form a consumersociety and explore the claim Is a consumersociety always a 'throw away' society?
To enable an informed evaluation I will introduce the following factors mass consumption in U.K. contemporary society, supermarkets positive sum power and Bauman’s theory of ‘The Seduced and the Repressed’
Generally when we think of consumerism our immediate thoughts are what goods or services we have bought images of bags brimming with promotional food offers, new clothes and shoes...

...Explore the claim that a consumersociety is always a throw away society.
There is no doubt that our environment is becoming more polluted. An increase in the amount of waste people produce is one of the main causes for this issue. For example, households in the UK throw away approximately 30 million tonnes of rubbish a year. Our population is rising, therefore the amount of goods required to meet people’s demands has increased. Living standards have improved, as have the qualities of products and the choice of them thereof, all of which is facilitated by the increasing demands of a growing market. The subsequent waste that this increase in population, demand and consumerism creates provokes the question – is a consumersociety always a throw away society?
Rising affluence is a key factor in today’s increase in waste and rubbish. In today’s society the majority of people are able to afford the higher standards of living and more luxurious items. Take a television for example; in the 1950’s televisions were regarded as a luxury. Those families that had a black and white television were regarded as wealthy or rich. However, skip to today’s society and everybody has a television and they are now seen as a necessity rather than a luxury item regardless of a families’ on individuals’ financial capacity. As well as the increase in households...